CHICAGO – A judge found three Chicago police officers not guilty Thursday of conspiring to cover up damning details around the controversial police shooting of Laquan McDonald, the black teen whose 2014 death sparked public outrage and political tumult in the nation’s third-largest city.

Officer Thomas Gaffney, former Officer Joseph Walsh and former Detective David March had been charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice and official misconduct for allegedly filing false reports to protect their colleague, Officer Jason Van Dyke.

Cook County Associate Judge Domenica Stephenson found Gaffney, March and Walsh not guilty of all counts.

Van Dyke,who shot McDonald 16 times, was convicted in October of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery.

Van Dyke is scheduled to be sentenced Friday. He faces up to 96 years in prison.

Van Dyke was the only officer to open fire on McDonald. Prosecutors alleged that Gaffney, Walsh and March tried to hidedetails of the incident by providing or signing off on inaccuratereports to protect Van Dyke.

Prosecutors said a police dashcam video and witness testimony contradicted the officers’ description of the Oct. 20, 2014, encounter. But Stephenson found prosecutors failed to prove any “grand scheme” to provide false information to investigators.

Walsh and Gaffney had reported that the 17-year-old McDonald lunged at Van Dyke with a knife and assaulted otherofficers.

"We cannot now view the actions of the officers with the benefit of hindsight as to what they should have believed,” Stephenson said in a lengthy ruling.

Walsh, who was Van Dyke's partner on the night of the shooting, called the ordeal "heart-wrenching for my family." March and Gallagher declined to comment.

Todd Pugh, an attorney for Walsh, said "the judge showed courage and integrity, unlike the media."

Gaffney, Walsh and Marchopted for a bench trial, leaving their fate to Stephenson, not a jury.

Attorneys offered their closing arguments last month, but Stephenson took time to weigh the evidence. She was presented with thousands of pages of police documents, rival expert testimony, witness accounts and video footage of the shooting and moments that led to it.

The shooting of McDonald, a troubled teen who had been in and out of the juvenile justice system, further widened the chasm between police and Chicago's African-American population, who make up nearly a third of the city's population.

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Former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, left and his attorney Daniel Herbert exit following his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Jan. 18, 2019 in Chicago. Van Dyke was sentenced to six years and nine months for the 2014 fatal shooting of 17-year-old African-American Laquan McDonald. Pool photo by Antonio Perez, AFP/Getty Images

Former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, left,reacts during his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Jan. 18, 2019 in Chicago. Van Dyke was sentenced to six years and nine months for the 2014 fatal shooting of 17-year-old African-American Laquan McDonald. Pool photo by Antonio Perez

Chicago Police Officers guard the area outside of the Leighton Criminal Courts Building during the sentencing of the Officer Jason Van Dyke on Jan. 18, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Van Dyke, a white police officer, is to be sentenced Friday for the fatal shooting of McDonald, and African-American 17-year-old, in 2014. Kamil Krzaczynski, AFP/Getty Images

A man, with a Pan-African flag, protests outside of the Leighton Criminal Courts Building during the sentencing of Officer Jason Van Dyke on Jan. 18, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Kamil Krzaczynski, AFP/Getty Images

Edward Nance, who alleged he was roughed up by Officer Jason Van Dyke during a traffic stop on the South Side in 2007, testifies at Van Dyke's sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building Jan. 18, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Van Dyke was found guilty in October 2018 of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery in the on-duty shooting of McDonald. Pool photo by Antonio Perez

Rev. Marvin Hunter speaks to reporters after a judge acquitted three Chicago police officers of trying to cover up the 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, in Chicago. Judge Domenica Stephenson said that after considering all of the evidence, including police dashcam video of the killing, she didn't find that officer Thomas Gaffney, Joseph Walsh and David March conspired to cover up the shooting. The officer who shot McDonald 16 times, Jason Van Dyke, was convicted of murder in October and is due to be sentenced Friday. Noreen Nasir, AP

Chicago Police Officer Thomas Gaffney, back left, sits next to ex-officer Joseph Walsh, back right, as they listens to a judge's ruling at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 in Chicago. A judge acquitted three Chicago police officers of trying to cover up the 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald. Judge Domenica Stephenson said that after considering all of the evidence, including police dashcam video of the killing, she didn't find that officer Gaffney, Walsh and David March conspired to cover up the shooting. The officer who shot McDonald 16 times, Jason Van Dyke, was convicted of murder in October and is due to be sentenced Friday. Pool photo by Zbigniew Bzdak

Tina Hunter, mother of Laquan McDonald, watches during the murder trial of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke at the Leighton Criminal Court Building Sept. 24, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Van Dyke is charged with shooting and killing 17-year-old McDonald, who was walking away from police down a street holding a knife four years ago. Pool photo by Antonio Perez

Lead defense attorney Daniel Herbert gestures at an animated video during the trial of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke at the Leighton Criminal Court Building Sept. 25, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Van Dyke, who is white, is charged with shooting and killing black 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was walking away from police down a street holding a knife four years ago. Pool photo by Antonio Perez

Jason Van Dyke's lawyer, Daniel Herbert, motions with the 3-inch blade Laquan McDonald carried the night he was fatally shot, during opening statements in the trial of Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Sept. 17, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Van Dyke is on trial for the murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald who died after allegedly being shot by Van Dyke 16 times on October 20, 2014. Pool photo by Antonio Perez

In this Nov. 27, 2015, file photo, protesters take part in a "march for justice" in Chicago, in the wake of the release of video showing an officer fatally shooting Laquan McDonald. Special prosecutor Patricia Brown-Holmes announced Tuesday, June 27, 2017, that three Chicago police officers were indicted on felony charges that they conspired to cover up the actions of Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke in the killing of McDonald. The indictment, approved by a Cook County grand jury, alleges that one current and two former officers lied about the events of Oct. 20, 2014 when Van Dyke shot the black teenager 16 times. Nam Y. Huh, AP

Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke, charged with murder in the 2014 videotaped shooting death of black teenager Laquan McDonald, walks in the courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, for a status hearing in his case. A judge gave prosecutors until May 5 to respond to a petition requesting that a special prosecutor take over in the case. Pool photo by Nancy Stone, AP

Protestors lie in the street as they march, chant, shout and block intersections and stores along Michigan Avenue's Magnificent Mile' shopping area as they call for the resignation of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago, Ill. on Dec. 24, 2015. Activists called for the demonstration on Christmas Eve as they continue to display dissatisfaction over the handling of the investigation into the police shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald. Tannen Maury, EPA

Demonstrators hold a vigil in Federal Building Plaza after marching through downtown on Dec. 12, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. A recently released video showing the shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald by Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke has sparked almost daily protests in the city and calls for Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez to resign for trying to cover up the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Scott Olson, Getty Images

Demonstrators confront police during a protest following the release of a video showing Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting and killing Laquan McDonald on Nov. 24, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. Van Dyke was charged today with first degree murder for the October 20, 2014 shooting in which McDonald was hit with 16 bullets. Scott Olson, Getty Images

Rev. Jesse Jackson right, hugs Fred Hampton Jr., left, after a vigil for 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was fatally shot and killed Oct. 20, 2014 in Chicago. Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, with first degree murder in the killing. Hampton's father Fred Hampton Sr. was the Illinois chapter President of the Black Panther Party and was shot and killed in 1969. Paul Beaty, AP

Protesters take to the streets chanting and blocking traffic after the release of a video showing Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, shooting 17 year old Laquan McDonald in Chicago, Ill. on 24 Nov. 24, 2015. A judge denied bond for Van Dyke who is accused of shooting McDonald 16 times on Oct. 20, 2014. Tannen Maury, EPA

A memorial to 17-year-old Laquan McDonald and other victims of violence at the Sullivan House Alternative High School in Chicago is seen on April 17, 2015. McDonald was shot 16 times by Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke in October 2014. A judge has ordered the video of the shooting to be made public. Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images

In this handout provided by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke poses for a mugshot photo after he was was arrested for the shooting death of an African-American teen in Chicago, Illinois. Van Dyke has been charged with first degree murder for shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times on Oct. 20, 2014 after responding to a call of a knife wielding man who had threatened the complainant and was attempting to break into vehicles in a trucking yard. Cook County State's Attorney's Office via Getty Images

A handout image provided by the Office of the Medical Examiner of Cook County, Illinois, on Nov. 24, 2015, shows a diagram of bullet holes allegedly suffered by 17 year-old Laquan McDonald in a police shooting incident in October 2014. The 17 year-old was allegedly shot 16 times by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke on 20 October 2014. Cook County Medical Examiner via EPA

A frame grab from a dash cam video released by the Chicago Police on Nov. 24, 2015 which shows the fatal shooting of 17 year-old Laquan McDonald, center, by Chicago police officers, left, in Chicago, Ill. Oct. 20, 2014. Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder on Nov. 24, 2015. He allegedly shot Laquan McDonald 16 times, continuing fire after the teenager fell to the ground, and stopped only after another police officer told him to do so. A police video of the shooting was released on 24 November, and the police force had ordered officers to prepare for possible protests, the Chicago Tribune newspaper reported. Cook Country State's Attorney Anita Alvarez had taken more than a year to investigate the incident before filing the murder charge, but said she moved to file charges ahead of the video's release. Van Dyke has turned himself in and was being held without bail. The police union has said Van Dyke acted in fear of his life after McDonald lunged at him with a knife. Chicago Police via EPA

Karen Sheley, director of ACLU of Illinois Police Practices Project, called the acquittals "a painful reminder of the complete lack of structural accountability for police officers in Chicago."

"The judge’s findings will allow these three officers to escape criminal consequences for their part in covering up the murder of Laquan McDonald," Sheley said. "The court’s decision does nothing to exonerate a police department so rotten that a teenager can be murdered – on video – by one of its officers and no one in the chain-in-command lifted a finger to do anything about it."

At the trial, prosecutorspresented a series of emails sent and received by supervisors to suggest that there was a broad effort within the department to help Van Dyke justify the shooting. But none of the emails were written by the officers on trial.

Sgt. Daniel Gallagher, who was March’s boss, wrote to Lt. Anthony Wojcik weeks after the incident that police officers are “trained to shoot until the threat is eliminated, defeated or neutralized.”

Wojcik, who is now retired, supervised the McDonald investigation.

Van Dyke did exactly what he was trained to do,” Gallagher wrote. “We should be applauding him, not second-guessing him.”

Ron Hosko, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, asked Wojcik in an April 2015 email:“Tony, any luck making the case go away?”

Ex-Officer Joseph Walsh, from second left, back, former Detective David March and Chicago Police Officer Thomas Gaffney arrive in court on the first day of the trial with Judge Domenica Stephenson at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Nov. 27, 2018.(Photo: Zbigniew Bzdak, AP)

CONSPIRACY OR MINOR REPORTING ERRORS?

Attorneys for the officers said there was no was conspiracy. At worst, they argued in court, the men made some minor errors in writing their reports. The prosecution, theyargued, failed to show that the officers collaborated. They claimed the prosecution was politically motivated.

James McKay, March’s defense attorney, said the prosecution’s case was “ridiculous” and called witness testimony “a crock.” At one point during the trial, heargued that if March had truly wanted to cover for Van Dyke, he would have tossed the video of the shooting “in the middle of Lake Michigan.”

City leaders resisted releasing the video.It wasn't made public until Calloway and a journalist sued.

The release came 400 days after the shooting. The footage sparked citywide protests and sullied the reputation high-ranking political leaders.

The handling of the case fueled activists’ contention that an unofficial “code of silence” persists in one of the nation’s largest police departments. The code, critics say, allows bad cops to act with brutality without fear of being held accountable.

Special prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes expressed disappointment in the rule, but expressed hope that the case will help improve the department's culture.

"We do hope that this has been a crack in the wall of the code of silence and that others will think twice about engaging in conduct that might land them in an investigation such as this," she said

Kevin Graham, president of the Chicago police union, scoffed at the notion that officers are willing to look the other way at wrongdoing by their colleagues. He also said that the "relentless" media coverage of the case has had a "chilling effect" on the rank-and-file.

Emanuel announced in September that he wouldn’t run for reelection. McCarthy is among more than a dozen candidates running in next month’s election to replace Emanuel as Chicago’s mayor. The former police superintendent said he respected the ruling.

"From the very beginning I thought this was going to be a very difficult case for prosecutors to prove conspiracy," McCarthy said.

Toni Preckwinkle, the Cook County Board president and one of the top candidates in the mayoral race, called the judge's ruling "a brutal reminder that considerable work remains in piecing together the shattered trust between the police and Chicago’s black and brown communities."

Another top mayoral contender, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, called the finding "another tragic reminder of the broken culture within the police department and the work we have to do to fix it.”

Emanuel and his police superintendent, Eddie Johnson, offered no opinion in a joint statement on the acquittal.

“While the court process in this case is over, our work to ensure the systemic reform underway at the Chicago Police Department continues," Emanuel and Johnson said. "CPD is on the road to reform with no off-ramps. Unlike past reforms, these will stand the test of time."

Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke (L) is led from the courtroom following the verdict in his trial for the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald.(Photo: ANTONIO PEREZ / POOL, EPA-EFE)

VIDEO CONTRADICTED OFFICERS’ REPORTS

Officers were responding to reports of a person breaking into vehicles in a truck lot on Chicago's Southwest Side when they encountered McDonald. Gaffney and his partner, among the first to arrive on the scene, saidthe teen waswielding the knife.

McDonald, who authorities sayhad PCP in his system, ignored repeated calls by police to drop the knife. Officers followed the teen for several blocks as he wound his way through city streets. At one point, he scratched the windshield and popped the tire of Gaffney’s squad car.

“It is undisputed and undeniable that McDonald was an armed offender who ignored verbal commands to drop his knife for several blocks and continued to approach a more populous area," Stephenson said in her ruling.

Van Dyke told investigators that McDonald raised the knife in a menacing manner, and that he backpedaled as the teen approached.

The police video doesnot support Van Dyke's account. It showsthe officerjumping out of a squad car and opening fire within seconds.

Walsh, who was Van Dyke's partner that night, said in police documents thathe, too, "backed up" as McDonald came within 12 to 15 feet. He said the teen "swung the knife toward the officers in an aggressive manner."

Gaffney, who requested officers equipped with tasers come to the scene, indicated in an official post-incident report that Van Dyke and other officers were battered in the incident. No officers were hurt.

William Fahy, Gaffney’s defense attorney, said Gaffney might have made minor mistakes in his reporting. But he argued that the prosecution’s theory that the paperwork demonstrated an attempt to cover up “simply doesn’t make sense.”

Fahy said Gaffney did not witness the shooting, and his report of battery against the officers was referring to McDonald popping the tire and scratching the windshield of his squad car.

“I have yet to meet the perfect police officer, and I have yet to see a perfect police report,” Fahy said.

COOPERATING OFFICER CALLED “A RAT”

March, the lead detective, signed off on statements given by officers at the scene who gave accounts that were contradicted by the video.

Earl Briggs, an investigator for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Officer, testified that March told him that McDonald lunged at Van Dyke before being shot. Briggs said heused the information to fill out a report for his office. The investigator said he read the narrativeback to March.

Special assistant prosecutor Ron Safer said the video belied claims that the officers were in imminent danger. He said the fact that the officers provided nearly identical statements strongly suggests they collaborated to write false reports.

Walsh, Van Dyke and Gaffney all checked a box on their reports that McDonald committed a battery with a deadly weapon against them. Eachalso checked a box that McDonald used force against them that was likely to cause death or great bodily harm.

“How can three people get that identically wrong unless they have agreed to tell the same story?” Safer asked.

Chicago police Officer Dora Fontaine, who arrived at the scene as the shooting unfolded, testified that March directed her to fill out paperwork saying Van Dyke was injured by McDonald.

Fontaine, who received immunity from prosecutors for her testimony, said she has been shunned by colleagues as a ‘rat, a snitch, a traitor" for cooperating with prosecutors. Defense attorneys and the Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police, which paid for her legal counsel, said she lacked credibility.

“Dora Fontaine is not a flipper,” McKay said. “She’s a flip-flopper.”

Stephenson noted in her ruling that Fontaine never contacted March or supervisors to point out concerns about what was attributed to her in the department's official reports.

"The court finds that her trial testimony ... is not credible," Stephenson said.